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A man who found a baby inside the entryway of an apartment on Chicago's South Side describes how he found her. Regina Waldroup reports. (Published Saturday, March 22, 2014)

A man who found a young girl wrapped in a blanket inside an apartment building on Chicago's South Side Friday night said he thinks a woman who alerted him to the abandoned baby may have been her mother.

Thomas Freeman said a young woman approached him while he was walking in the 8200 block of South Justine Street and asked to use his cell phone after she told him it appeared someone left a baby in the hallway of a nearby apartment.

"I went to reach for it, she said it looked like someone left a baby in the hallway," Freeman said. "When I looked, she left and kept walking. I said "Are you sure?" She didn't respond."

Freeman went to the building to see if the woman was telling the truth.

"When I looked in there that's when I realized there was something laying in there. It was a little baby, a precious baby girl," he said.

He and his girlfriend Arleasia Lee then called police and went inside to check on the young girl.

"I was like please don't let it be hurt or anything," said Lee.

The girl, who police believe is about one year old, was found wrapped in a purple blanket around 11:30 p.m. in the vestibule of an apartment in the 8200 block of South Justine Street, according to police.

The child was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital in good condition, police said.

Around 3 a.m., the young girl was released from the hospital and placed in custody of the state’s Department of Child and Family Services.

Under Illinois' Safe Haven law, parents are allowed to relinquish custody of an unharmed newborn up to 30 days old to personnel at a hospital, emergency medical care facility, police or fire station.

Chicago Police News Affairs later said they determined the girl's identity and were looking for her mother. The name of the child was not being released.

She is described as 30 inches tall and around 24 pounds and was wearing a pink jacket and polka-dot hat.

Freeman also said she was left with a bag of diapers and a sippy cup and was laying next to a gas can.

Freeman said the couple needed a flashlight to see the baby inside the building and questioned how the woman knew the young girl was in the hallway. He said he believes the woman may be the child's mother, but is just happy the baby is safe.

Anyone with information about the toddler or her family is being asked to call Area South Detectives at (312) 474-8274.